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Indigenous-owned · Saskatoon, Treaty 6 · Shipping across Canada
An introduction to Gatineau: its history, the Nations whose lands it sits on, and Indigenous community life today, with sources.
Algonquin (Anishinaabe) peoples have lived along the Ottawa and Gatineau rivers for millennia. Up the Gatineau River near Maniwaki, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg counts more than 3,000 registered members and operates its own cultural centre, and it holds a powwow on the first weekend of June. The city’s name likely comes from the Anishinaabemowin river name Tenàgàdino Zìbì. The Chaudière Falls are described as one of the most important places for the Algonquin. Algonquin people first met Europeans in 1603, when Samuel de Champlain arrived. They became French allies in the fur trade and built military and trade alliances with both Indigenous and French partners. Communities were organized into patrilineal clans, and respected Elders and clan heads provided leadership. Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, the largest and most populous Algonquin community in Quebec, lies upriver at Maniwaki on the Gatineau. The reserve was formally established in 1851 and the community now numbers more than 2,300. Its founding chief, Antoine Paginawatik, whose name means tree split by lightning, served from 1854 to 1874 and made three canoe journeys to Toronto to press for recognition of the Nation’s territory. Many members trace their move there from the Lake of Two Mountains in the Oka area, and the Nation now runs its own education system and its own Algonquin language programming.
Gatineau is on the unceded territory of the Anishinābe Algonquin Nation.
Nearby: Ottawa · Chelsea · Cantley · La Pêche · Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg
The 2021 census recorded 30,390 people with Algonquin ancestry, whose lands centre on the Ottawa River and its tributaries. The Algonquin language, Omàmiwininìmowin, is endangered. Only 1,925 people reported knowing it in 2021, and communities are working to keep it alive through education. Up the Gatineau River in Maniwaki, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg describes its members as the River Desert People. The community was established in 1851. Its education department shares Anishinabemowin language resources. It also runs a police department, health and social services, and a youth council, and it publishes regular newsletters on community life. The community describes its aim as a healthy community built on cooperation, one that preserves its traditions and history. In the city itself, the Canadian Museum of History acknowledges that it stands on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabeg. Its First Peoples Hall is a permanent exhibition on the enduring traditions of Indigenous peoples. The Grand Hall presents First Peoples of the Northwest Coast and a Tsimshian history exhibition.
More on the region: Indigenous Quebec · all of Canada.
XUSI is an Indigenous-owned business from Saskatoon, started in 2020 by two brothers from northern Saskatchewan. Along with our clothing, we bring Indigenous youth workshops and custom screen printing to Gatineau and across Quebec.
Strong Roots Strong Future is our interactive workshop for Indigenous youth, led by the two brothers who founded XUSI. We travel to schools, First Nations and Indigenous communities, youth organizations and funding programs in Gatineau and across Quebec. Youth ages 10 and up work through identity and culture, financial literacy, fitness, entrepreneurship and business skills, career readiness and hands-on screen printing.
Custom t-shirts, hoodies and crewnecks for Gatineau schools, sports teams, businesses, events and First Nations and Indigenous organizations. Send us an idea, get free design help and a full quote before anything is printed. We print in Saskatoon and ship to Gatineau. 10-garment minimum, up to 4 colours per design.
Heavyweight cotton tees, hoodies, crewnecks and A-frame hats with Cree words and the stories behind them. Fitness is part of how XUSI started, so our pieces are built for the gym and the street, and we ship them to Gatineau.
The XUSI website is English only, but orders ship to Gatineau from Saskatoon and leave within 1–3 business days.
Yes, for 10 garments or more. Each design can have up to 4 colours, design help is included, and every order is quoted before printing. Pieces are printed in Saskatoon and shipped to Gatineau.
Our designs carry Cree words and stories, explained on our meanings page. For a Gatineau or Kitigan Zibi group that wants Algonquin words or its own artwork, custom printing includes design help and starts at 10 garments. The group chooses and approves the wording before we print.
Last reviewed . Facts on this page come from the sources listed below.
Every XUSI design carries a word and a reason. sôhkahpinêw, on the Wolf tee, is about holding on. sâskwatôn is the Cree name the city of Saskatoon was named after. Both ship to Gatineau like everything else in the line.
The brand is Indigenous-owned, built by two brothers who write the meanings themselves. Read them on the Meanings page, or browse Cree language clothing.
